THE MERGED
by John Elias Clodi'i
Summary: The Confederacy had been shocked by the new Protoss Hybrid, and has granted Donavan, budding scientist, permission to experiment. Until they realize the risk. Will Donavan have to rely on a former ally? Or can the MERGED survive on their own?
1. Prolouge

Prologue

Jarren raced through the halls of the compound, steam billowing out from the pipes along the walls as explosions sounded farther down. He slammed his hand against the keypad, rushing through the massive doors into the chamber beyond. The room was filled with equipment, monitors displaying systems data, specimen progress, and fluid currents covered the walls, and massive stasis tubes dotted the floor, surrounded with machinery to regulate the development of the creatures inside.

Jarren looked around franticly for Donavan, the man had come here at the first sign of a fight, and he hadn't left since the station had gotten the order from the confederacy to kill the project.

"DONAVAN!" Jarren bellowed, voice barely audible over the sounds of gunfire and grenades, "WE _HAVE_ TO SHUT IT DOWN!"

He raced over to one of the mainframes, fingers flying as he began shutting down tank after tank in the station. He had to work fast, if he could get them all down before the marines could destroy the base, then he and Donavan would be able to re-build, start the program over away from the Confederacy. He heard the click of a hammer being pulled back, and the middle aged scientist froze.

He turned to see who was behind him, and panic hit him like a hammer. Donavan stood with a military rifle in hand, staring intently at his partner.

"Back away Jarren. I told you once, I am _not _shutting the program down."

Jarren lifted his hands, shaking wildly as Donavan stepped closer. "I cant Jarren," he said softly, staring at the floor, keeping the point on his friend, " I cant kill them."

Jarren saw an opening to convince his partner, and he desperately took it. "They're an experiment, Donavan! The confederacy will destroy this place, everything, now! You know as well as I that the reason they're doing this is because they don't think that a race derived from warriors can bring peace, and if we don't shut it down, they'll destroy everything! If we give in to them now, we can start over, outside their sight!"

Donavan stared at him, grey eyes cold and tired. " I won't shut it down, and it's not because of the project."

Jarren's eyebrows scrunched. To him, it had all been an experiment, a challenge, had it become something else to his fellow scientist?

Donavan turned to the mainframe, keeping the gun trained on Jarren, and he began punching commands into the computer at a breakneck pace, doors slamming shut around the complex, including the one leading to the chamber. Jarren _had _to get that gun out of the way, he had to get Donavan to see reason!

Jarren rushed forward, shifting to the side as he grabbed the barrel of the gun, slamming Donavan against the keys of the computer, straining against the stronger man. Donavan whipped the gun around, trying to get it free. He slammed Jarren against the surface of a stasis tank, knocking the wind out of the younger man, flinging him across the room with ease.

Jarren leapt forward, wrestling for the gun once again, and the gun went off, a bullet shattering one of the four active tanks in the room. Donavan roared with rage, shoving Jarren back, swiping a needle off of a table, and sinking it directly into the other man's chest, the orange liquid inside instantly rushing into the other man. Donavan shoved Jarren into an empty tank, ignoring the screams of pain, and he started the sequence, a dark blue fluid rushing into the glass chamber.

Donavan rushed to the shattered tank, scooping up his delicate creation as gently as he could. It's little heart was still beating, translucent skin still slick with the stasis fluid. It was waking up, tiny legs kicking, mouth gaping. Donavan rushed to the remaining empty chamber, opening it as fast as he could, ….and the tiny creature's heart stopped beating. Donavan froze, staring at his masterpiece, the perfect blend of Terran and Protoss, gone. He fell to the ground, staring at the small, dead embryo, when the door was cut open by a psy blade.

Donavan slowly looked up, hardly surprised to see the Protoss woman that had been the third member of their team, standing next to him. She rested a four fingered hand on his shoulder, iridescent blue eyes staring at him, examining him.

"_It is gone, Donavan._" The Protoss said, "_We must move the remaining Merges, so that we may bring peace to our peoples. Tassin's death was unfortunate, but there are three that can be kept, and taught." _

She helped Donavan up, and the scientist nodded slowly. He had started to think of these creations as his children, and he would not lose his daughters and remaining son.

"Thank you, Cho'Nira," he said quietly, "Help me move the equipment and transfer the program to the ship's computer, we'll set up on Janus 4, the jungle world."

Cho'Nira nodded, striding over to one of the three tanks, closing her eyes. "_Few Protoss would trust a Human…_" she mused to herself, "_But then again_," her eyes opened, intent on Donavan, "_few humans would find such emotion for a Protoss child_."

CHAPTER ONE, ten years later

Kae'Ana raced through the trees, feet folding up at lightning speed with each step. She angled sharply, folding her feet up effortlessly to leap over a bush, proceeding onwards with loud, even breaths. Mother had explained that one of the girl's parent races had evolved on a planet like this, and Kae'Ana believed it, her hybrid toes were perfect for climbing, and leaping through the undergrowth was as easy as breathing.

She put on some extra speed, her Protoss cloak flapping slightly as she ran barefoot through the jungle. At first this area had been home to all kinds of creatures, many dangerous, but Mother and Donavan had taken care of that, making a perimeter of safety for the four young hybrids. Kae'Ana glanced up into the trees, her sister was close, somewhere in the dense foliage.

She waited, listening for the sounds of her older sibling, waiting for any sign of her prescence.

A rock hit her on the head, and she yelped, throwing her hands up. "That's cheating Ahn'Reada!" she screamed, her terran lips forming the words effortlessly, "you said you wouldn't throw things!"

Ahn'Reada poked her head out from behind a tree, a grin spread wide on her face, her own green cloak drapind down to her feet, which were gripping a branch tightly. The two sisters were somewhat alike, with the same light grey skin, human faces, and protoss legs, but they matched in little else. Ahn'Reada resembled Mother, a protoss, with the same black braided hair and amused expression, (though the mouth was different) While Kae'Ana had uncharictaristic blond hair, though it was similarly braided.

"I couldn't help it, you had stopped!"

Kae'Ana glared at her sister, then sprinted back off into the forest, feet pounding into the dirt.


	2. Chapter One

The High Emporer of the Terran systems stood at the window of his starship, frowning as he surveyed the stars passing by, or, the illusion of stars passing by, as light could never truly come to the ship from the outside, during their travels, waiting for his attendant to arrive. She had become very good at her work, something rare in the Fringe Worlds, and the Emporer had found here extremely useful when it came to learning things.

He smirked, her skill had saved her life on more than one occasion. She claimed it came from life in the confederacy bunkers, but he doubted it. Inteligence was visible for miles, light years, in some cases. She was the one he had assigned to researching every colony the confederacy had set up, and she claimed to have found something he may deem "quite usefull." Something that he could use in his war against the Zerg. The signal came up on his moniter that she wished to enter, and he pressed a hand to the pad on his desk, the door blurring, and disappearing.

This particular secretary blinked, then stepped through the door into the lavishly decorated office that the Emporer claimed.

"I have the files Sir." She said, "You may want to look at them on a personal moniter, for the same reasons that I did not send it through the ship's Internet, this information could be valuable to certain… enemies."

The Emporer knew the woman was talking about that reble, Jim Raynor, and he grimaced. "The fool will know that he has lost soon enough. As will all of the Fringe that have allied with him in their resistance. I will have dominance, and that is final."

His secretary didn't seem so certain. "Perhaps, but there are next to no Fringe Worlds still loyal to the Empire, my Lord. The mistreatment under the confederacy, and our early years, made Raynor look like a savior."

The emperor frowned. "Hand me the data. And stick around, you found this, you are going to have some thoughts on the subject, and how we might use it."

The High Emperor took the chip from his assistant, and inserted them into a screen on his desk. (he loved his desk) He scrolled through the information at a rapid pace, eyes scanning over the information and legal jargon dotted through the corroded file.

He grinned, looking up at his secretary. "This base, it was on the asteroid belt of Kalvin 7?"

His secretary nodded.

"And, it's still there?"

His secretary nodded again. "But, sir, the system is a reble stronghold, we'd never be able to get to the remains of the station."

The Emperor's grin widened. "Well then, I suppose that we'll have to deal with that little problem as soon as possible now, don't we? This genetics program…could be usefull."

Ahn'Reada sat up in her bed, sweat tripping from her forehead, as she gasped through her thin mouth. It had happened again. Mother, or, the one they all called Mother, had hoped that the dreams would have stopped, but they were happening more and more frequently, ever since her eyes had turned from blue to this strange green. Her very Terran chest heaved, the man seemed to emanate malice, aggression, and it had all _seemed_ directed at her.

She slowly slid out of bed, her long Protoss legs folding out from underneath her, her four toes, shorter than Mother's, touching the floor soundlessly.

She rose slowly, still shocked by the strange, and mildly terrifying, dream that she had, creeping silently towards the room where Mother meditated through the darker nights. Ahn'Reada had asked her about that before, but the elusive Protoss woman somehow managed to distract her every time she came close to getting answers.

The door was slightly ajar, a soft golden light spilling from the harsh steel that made up most of the complex, where Donavan, Father, had created them. The room beyond, however, was very, very different. Mother had insisted on building this room herself, Protoss glyphs etched in the strange metal that lined the room in a golden gleam, blue lights pulsing occasionally. The room had an almost ethereal quality about it, and Ahn'Reada was perpetually surprised by the sheer beauty of the architecture.

"_What is it, child?" _Ahn'Reada said, or, well, thought, since the Protoss didn't really have mouths to talk with, "_Why have you interrupted my thoughts?"_

Ahn'Reada dipped her head slightly, then opened her mouth. "I, I had a dream again."

Cho'Nira's eyes shot open, their faint blue glow seeming startled. "_You are sure?"_

Ahn'Reada nodded. "But, it was more real than any of the others, like I was actually there. Listening."

Cho'Nira frowned with her eyebrows. "_It could be possible..."_

"What mother?"

Cho'Nira's eyes lightened a little, wrinkles folding at the corners as she smiled. "_Just something I must tell Donavan child, go back to sleep, we will talk about this tomorrow, when we have all had some rest."_

"About the dreams?"

"_You are twelve?"_

Ahn'Reada nodded.

"_Then, it is time that I began to teach you about my race."_


End file.
